Chicago Blackhawks

On the bright side, the Chicago Blackhawks won the final game of their eight-game homestand versus the Florida Panthers, and took two much-needed points. The bad news is much worse.

Just 7:49 into the first period, Alex Petrovic cross-checked Patrick Kane near the boards, and Kane left the ice in obvious pain, retreating immediately to the team locker room. He did not return to the game after sustaining an "upper body injury".

Jonathan Toews opened the scoring for Chicago with a power play goal midway through the first. It would take until late in the second for the Blackhawks to stretch the lead to 2-0 on a Kris Versteeg goal.

There it is, Blackhawks’ fans- the wakeup call that Chicago has needed for a while now has finally arrived.

Sunday’s game wasn’t so much a contest as it was a clinic by the Bruins, who pounded the Blackhawks 6-2 in a game where the Hawks just couldn’t seem to catch a break. Corey Crawford was pulled after allowing four goals on 14 shots, while Tuukka Rask finished the game with a .929 sv%.

It seems really odd to type that both the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks are coming into this game struggling. Boston is struggling a bit more and on the offensive side of the puck as they are currently ranked 22nd in the league and have had a hard time finding the back of nets. Now with David Krejci out this will not help the Bruins scoring cause.

The Hawks in the meantime have had their own issues, with too many turnovers in their own end and lack of net front presence and production from their bottom lines to balance a scoring attack. Captain Jonathan Toews in his post game presser called his team out for lack of emotions and being unprepared. It will be interesti...

In their fourth meeting of the season, the Hawks will look to clinch a win and garner up some more valuable points against the Avalanche. In their previous three meetings, the Hawks won two games and lost one however, their wins did not have Semyon Varlamov in net.

On Wednesday night, we got a reminder of what we as hockey fans lost when the league restructured into the current two conference, four division format: a prime rivalry between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings.

The Blackhawks started the game with the kind of powerhouse posession and shooting that has defined much of their season, outshooting the Red Wings 17-6. They would end the game 34-38 SOG, but the Blackhawks also led by a wide margin of attempted shots on goal - 23 attempts blocked and 17 missed shots, versus 20 AB and 6 MS for Detroit. The Blackhawks led on the faceoff dot, also, at 54%.

After coming from the All-Star break looking less than their best, the Blackhawks are looking more like their usual selves heading into Wednesday’s matchup agains the Red Wings. With points in their last six games, the Blackhawks are looking to keep a two-game win streak going against Detroit, who are winless in their last three games.

The Blackhawks have a lot of things going their way. The return of Kris Versteeg to the lineup has bolstered the forward depth,...

Two of the league’s premiere teams faced off in a Sunday matinee when the Pittsburgh Penguins rolled into town to take on the Chicago Blackhawks. Two clubs typically known for their offensive firepower, the game was defensive and chippy, with several non-calls as the refs let the players go at it. The fans at the United Center got to see 65 minutes of hockey along with a dazzling shootout, and in the end watched their hometown Hawks win a 2-1 victory against the Penguins.

In an early Sunday matinee the Blackhawks will host the Pittsburgh Penguins in the last of their two meetings in the regular season this year. The Hawks won the first tilt in a shoot out 3-2 just prior to the all star break. The Hawks took an early two goal lead but the Penguins came back to tie the game and push it to a shoot out.

The Hawks had a couple of different jersey numbers on the ice 38 and 26 that gave them a slightly different look both on the front and back ends of the lineup.

Making his NHL debut was Illinois’ own Ryan Hartman who was playing the wing on the fourth and third lines. He made a huge first impression in his first shift on the ice when he made a huge mid ice hit against Devils’ Zubrus who probably out weights Hartman by 30 -40 lbs.

Ryan Hartman was very physical and noticeable throughout the game adding some grit along with skill. Welcome to the Blackhawks, Ryan here is to many more appearances at the United Center.

Marian Hossa continued to dominate for the Blackhawks, but once again, the Hawks were bested in extra time as they dropped a 5-4 OT decision to Vancouver on Wednesday night. Hossa scored twice, including the game-tying goal with 54 seconds remaining, but it was Eddie Lack who would emerge victorious with 37 saves on 41 shots.

It was Chicago who would get on the board first with a goal by Patrick Kane. Kane stripped the puck from Canucks’ defenseman Lucas Sbisa ...